Forever (I'll Try For You and I)
by EndWorldPeas
Summary: Geek!Paige and her unrequited love for Emily.
1. Prologue

Forever (I'll Try for You and I)

Prologue

There are rules in life that a person must adhere to if they want to make it out alive. Simple rules like: don't put your hand in fire, always look before you leap, and do not, under any circumstances, call a girl you have zero interest in because you want cuddle time. The last rule is more about being a decent person, because toying with someone's feelings is a jerk move.

Emily Fields loves rules. Loves them. She's a stickler for them. She doesn't cross the street unless the lighted man tells her it's okay. She doesn't drink milk that has passed its expiration date even if it's just by a day. Every rule is followed, meticulously, all in the name of self-preservation. Convinced that if she follows every rule, she would never get hurt. In any way, body and heart. To say that she was guarded would be an understatement.

Naturally, being the lover of rules that she is, she knows the rule about not leading people on. And as she sits in her empty house — idly flipping her phone in her hand — guilt is already rearing its ugly head. This was beyond Emily's comfort zone: debating dialing the number of the only person she breaks rules for.

She tried to not call again, she really did. Her mom left about an hour ago and in that hour Emily had collected almost every blanket in the house, including the sleeping bags. She wrapped, twisted, and pulled her collection of blankets around her as tightly as she could, but while she was warm — uncomfortably warm — she still felt like something was missing. After successfully freeing herself from her blanket cocoon, she darted around the house collecting pillows. Propping the pillows on the couch to give her something to lean into. She was satisfied, momentarily, with the work that she had done and went back to the arduous process of coccooning herself again.

For a half hour she laid, fitfully, on the couch feeling a tad claustrophobic from the blankets and pushing back against the unsatisfying firmness of the goose-down pillows. Then, with an exasperated groan, she admitted defeat. She picked up her phone, flipped it in her hands, and with great apprehension, pressed the call button.

"Would you be willing to come over?" It didn't get much more pleasant than that. Sometimes she added a "please". Sometimes it sounded more like a demand, "Come over." How pleasant did someone need to be when making what was basically a booty call? Actually, more like a snuggle call, as no booty was ever exchanged. Words were never really exchanged either. It was treated more like a business transaction, with Emily getting to be held like she needed. She worried sometimes that her call would go unanswered and what she would do in that situation. She figured at that point she would call a girl that she had recently gone on a date with, even though that seemed more complicated. Emily rarely went beyond the second or third date. Matter of fact, she never went passed the third date. On the fourth date, feelings might be discussed and that was something she didn't want with anyone. Ever.

When she heard a polite knock on the door she jumped to her feet then paused for a moment. Jumping up seemed to eager and it was important to remind herself of her rule about not getting overly excited. Calmly and casually she stuffed all but a couple of the blankets in the coat closet then answered the door.

On any given day, Paige McCullers could be found wearing the most ridiculous Spider-man shirts; owning a collection of seemingly never ending variations: cartoon Spider-man, artistic Spider-man. Sometimes it was just Spider-man's torso giving Paige the appearance of having pecs and chiseled abs. If it wasn't Spider-man, it was some obscure science reference that Emily always had to put thought into before rolling her eyes. However, at this moment Paige was just in her charcoal sweatpants and plain black t-shirt. Her auburn hair was pulled into a messy bun, glasses sitting low on her nose. Emily wondered why she couldn't dress like this all the time; she almost looked...desirable. Almost. "Hey," she said in a low, raspy voice giving Emily the impression that Paige had been sleeping before she came over.

"Hi, Thanks," Emily replied and that was it. That was all that would be said between them until it was time for Paige to leave.

It was like a choreographed dance: the way they moved about the house together, getting ready to cuddle. Paige would throw the blanket across the back of the sofa before lying down. Emily would wait patiently for Paige to get settled. When Paige took her glasses off and set them on the end table, it was Emily's cue to lie down. She would lean against Paige, both of them pulling their knees up at the same time. Paige would then grab the edge of the blanket, placing it on top of them, before she wrapped her arm around Emily's waist.

Emily was pretty sure that Paige always feel asleep during these times. Clued in by the steady rise and fall of Paige's chest against her back. She never asked Paige why though. Why Paige never stayed up to watch the movie with her. She imagined that Paige didn't like scary movies and since that was usually what she was watching, Paige probably just found it easier to sleep.

Honestly, when she thought about it she didn't know much about Paige. She assumed Paige was an only child or if she did have a sibling there was a large age difference. One time, when Emily saw Paige with a lunch tray, she noticed Paige opted for chocolate milk. Three things that were obvious though: Paige liked comic books and Elvis; and she was in love with Emily. Has been for quite sometime, much to Emily's dismay.

One evening, a year ago, Emily enacted another rule: no kissing. Everything was business as usual, although their cuddle dance wasn't quite as perfect as it is now, but when Paige pulled the blanket over them she kissed Emily's neck: right under her ear. Emily hated the feeling, because that kiss was the epicenter for the soft trembles that rolled through her body. It made her feel like she wasn't in control. And to make it worse, it was Paige that caused it. With her lips, Paige had erased the history of kisses that others had given Emily. And not just on her neck. "Never kiss me again," was all Emily said. Paige didn't respond, but, thankfully, she never tried to kiss her again.

Liking that kiss was added to the long list of feelings that Emily would never admit to herself. Emily would never admit that Paige's body bent around hers perfectly, like a river that has spent years carving its way through the landscape. How Paige provided the perfect amount of warmth. She knew it was wrong to keep selfishly turning to Paige, but it was only Paige's body that ever felt connected with hers. Sure, Emily had other girls that she could call, but Emily was taller than the average girl and always had been more athletic than the girls she would date. None of them could provide the feeling of being secure like Paige did. Paige was similar in height to Emily - an argument could be made on any given day who was taller. Paige was also strong, although something else Emily didn't know about her was why she was strong. As far as Emily knew, Paige wasn't on any sports teams at school, but when she was in her arms Emily knew Paige was undeniably athletic.

Still, she had no desire to be with Paige. She didn't understand her: her jokes, the way she dressed, or how she was so open with her feelings. It annoyed Emily how forthcoming Paige was about her desire to be with her. And while Emily was always nice about rejecting her admirer, Paige seemed to be unfazed about being turned down. It might stop her proclamations of adoration for the day, but the next day she would be back to her old ways. Her self-confidence seemed to be limitless or maybe she was too foolish to realize she should be hurt.

The cuddling came about by accident at sixth grade camp. That is where eleven year old Emily met eleven year old Paige. Emily was homesick even though she had her three best friends - Spencer, Aria, and Hanna - in the same cabin with her. She hated how dark the woods were, the bugs — especially the bugs, and the way she was expected to have a camp boyfriend.

Paige was sort of the outcast of the cabin. While the other girls were gossiping about boys, Paige had her nose buried in a book, carefully identifying various plant species. She smiled easily and would carry on conversation when prompted, but she couldn't keep up with talk about hairstyles and no one understood why she thought the Hercules beetle was so exciting. "Geek" was a label that was given to her within the first couple days of camp and she wore the badge proudly. Anytime someone yelled "geek" at her, she would tuck her thumbs in her belt loops, smile broadly, and thank them for the compliment.

It baffled Emily how Paige could be so cavalier about being teased. After all, Emily didn't want to talk about gross boys, but she wanted people to like her. She picked a celebrity - Paul Walker- and claimed him as her future husband for the rest of camp. Paige, though, appeared to have no idea that it was best to fit in with the group. She didn't pick a future husband, only stating that she "wasn't interested in boys at the moment". When she was forced, though, she said Peter Parker. No one knew who he was. With questioning eyes on her, Paige just chuckled and went back to checking off wildflowers she had spotted that day.

After watching her for a couple weeks Emily decided that she would never be friends with a peculiar girl like Paige McCullers. She was so sure that they had nothing in common and therefore, attempting a friendship would be pointless. Besides, Paige seemed happier alone.

One night, during a rare summer thunderstorm, Emily was jolted awake by a cabin-shaking crack of thunder. Terrified, she leaped from her top bunk, searching for the comfort of home. Having three best friends to choose from it wouldn't have been too hard for her to find. That is why it was such a shock to her when her legs carried her to Paige. Without permission, but never feeling unwelcome, Emily crawled into Paige's bed and curled into her. Two wiry arms circled around her even though she was sure Paige hadn't woken up. Emily feel asleep almost as soon as her head hit Paige's shoulder and stayed even after the thunder stopped. Simply put: Emily has been toying with Paige's love for the past five years.

Spencer Hastings - although now an extremely bright and accepting person — was the first person to find it a little strange that Paige treated Emily the same way a husband would treat a wife. Carefully, she would study the rare interactions between the two, but mostly she watched Paige. She watched her because no one else was watching Paige watch over Emily. Frankly, it concerned her. The boy that tried to kiss Emily without her permission ended up with Poison Oak in his sleeping bag. Paige was sure to walk in front of Emily on hikes, kicking rocks off to the side to make the trail a little less hazardous. When Emily eventually did trip — on a root, not a rock- and sprained her ankle it was Paige that deposited a bouquet of wildflowers next to Emily's bed while she was sleeping in the medical cabin.

Emily never seemed to notice what Spencer noticed and Paige never made a big production of the things she did. So when Spencer woke up to find Emily sleeping in Paige's bed the morning after a bad thunderstorm; Spencer could only assume that Emily was there against her will. She screamed at Paige who just started at her with wide-eyed confusion. "You can't be her husband. You're a girl," she shouted causing tears to build in Paige's eyes. After all, it was Emily that crawled in bed with her. But Spencer didn't ask and Emily never corrected her. Then, with Hastings-like determination, she marched Emily to the Camp Directors office and demanded that Paige be kicked out of the cabin.

Life in her new cabin was fine for Paige. Everything went along as usual: people teasing her, her nose stuck in a book. Seeing Emily was rare for her now, but when she did see her she would smile brightly and try to not let the fact that Emily never returned the smile hurt her too much. She optimistically told herself that Emily did not see her and next time the girl would smile back. Only that return smile never came and during bonfire night by the Lake Paige witnessed Emily get her first kiss — from Poison Oak boy. That time she let it hurt too much. The only thing that cheered her up a little was that when no one was looking Emily wiped the kiss away with the back of her hand. Paige wondered if Emily knew that she had other options if she still would have kissed the boy. Paige would have liked to be Emily's first kiss; and maybe Emily only kissed that boy because she didn't know how Paige felt about her.

With a poorly thought-out plan, Paige rushed back to her cabin; took out her book of knots and went to work. With a heart knot in hand and love clouding her already immature judgement she marched right up to Emily, gave her the heart knot, and said, "My heart is yours to keep."

Now sixteen year old Paige is pretending to sleep while spooning sixteen year old Emily because she hates scary movies, but she loves that Emily loves them. It's business as usual, so Paige can count on Emily eventually forgetting to put her guard up. She'll start absentmindedly drawing patterns on Paige's arm and quietly hum the tune to Spider-man. That's when Paige is reminded that giving her heart to Emily was worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

"All I'm saying is that you or Aria should dye your hair red." Last night, Hanna got this crazy idea in her head that their foursome would be cuter if each naturally occurring hair color was represented. Today, she was trying — in vain — to convince her friends it's a great idea. "Emily has black hair and I, of course, have beautiful, golden locks."

"We're not Barbies, Hanna. We're not going to change our appearance for your amusement." Spencer was trying — in vain — to get her to give up the harebrained idea.

"Not 'we' just one of you would dye her hair. You guys can flip a coin: leave it to fate."

"It has to be you, Spence, my skin tone would not work with red hair." Aria just threw Spencer under the bus. Hanna couldn't argue with incompatible skin tones and she found herself in agreement with the petite brunette. That left Spencer as her only possible redhead.

Emily couldn't be bothered with this conversation; although she had caught some of it and debated telling Hanna that her hair was actually dark brown as of last week. Then suggest that Hanna dye her hair brown, too: so they all matched. An idea that Hanna would surely dismiss, because when it comes to her own hair, Hanna wasn't changing it for anyone. It could have been funny, but she was more concerned with finding her copy of "Great Expectations". A book that was currently resting — mistakingly forgotten — on her kitchen counter. "Do any of you guys have a copy of 'Great Expectations' I can borrow," she asked, grumbling because she already knew the answer: an unanimous no.

Hanna was going to continue her mission of getting Spencer to dye her hair when the Spider-man logo caught her eye. "Speaking of redheads," she said, grinning in recognition.

"From bad to worse," Emily mumbled, trying to hide her head in her locker. She hoped that today would be the day that Paige continued passed them without a word, but that never happened. Paige never went a day without saying something sweet and unwanted to her.

"When are you going to get over this, Em," Hanna asked out of annoyance. She liked Paige, always had. Having previously been overweight, Hanna knew what it was like to be the subject of ridicule. What others saw as flaws, Hanna saw them as things that were uniquely Paige and should, therefore, be appreciated. "Paige is actually really cute. You should give her a chance."

"Well, great," Emily punctuated the last word with a clap of her hand, "if you think she's cute you go out with her. Take the attention away from me."

Hanna knew Emily was working hard to keep up the appearance of being uninterested in Paige. As a matter of fact she was working so hard that at this point Hanna wondered who she was trying to convince. "You could try just going on one date with her; it might pacify her: especially if it doesn't go well."

"She has a point. A date could be worth a try," Spencer added while discreetly checking her reflection in a pocket mirror trying to picture herself with red hair.

"Have you all lost your minds? There is no way I would ever go out with her. It wouldn't get her to stop, it would just encourage her behavior."

Emily was her best friend, but sometimes Hanna wished she could shake some sense into her. "Someone is overly confident."

"Guys, quiet, here she comes," Aria warned.

"Good day ladies, you all look radiant this morning," Paige greeted the girls as a group, but her focus was mostly on Emily. "Hanna, how did your pre-cal test go?"

"I think it went a lot better than it would have had you not helped me. Thank you so much," Hanna said, wrapping her arms around Paige in a friendly hug. "I owe you big time."

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad I could help you out. Hi, Emily," Paige said. She had always made it a point to greet Emily specifically. It was often the only way to get a return greeting from the girl.

"Hi, Paige," Emily said softy, avoiding eye contact with the grinning girl in front of her.

"You look lovely today. Is that a new top," asked Paige. It was, but Emily didn't want to admit that. This whole thing felt like a game to her sometimes of who would cave first. Admitting that the shirt was new felt like it would be a small victory for Paige. She wanted Paige to understand that she didn't know _everything_ about her.

"No, I've had it for years." Emily Fields is a liar.

"Well, it still looks great. Good laundry detergent I suppose," Paige said with a laugh. When she laughed at her own jokes — which was often — her glasses would slowly slide down her nose because of her vibrating body. To return her glasses to their proper place she would always push them up by the bridge with her finger. Along with liking chocolate milk it was something else Emily noticed about Paige. She noticed because on certain days the little quirk would make the corners of her mouth turn up; giving the illusion that she was actually smiling at the geek.

"It's dry-clean only." That was a little overboard and judging by the sharp elbow to her side, Spencer thought so too.

"Paige, you have such nice hair. Don't you think Spencer would look nice with red hair — "

"Hey geek," Noel Kahn snapped as he knocked the books out of Paige's hands. She was used to this kind of treatment. It came with the territory of not trying to blend in with the crowd; still, she would get embarrassed when it happened in front of Emily. Paige knew that the beauty liked to fit in. A concept that she always found strange, because Emily had to realize that someone as gorgeous as her would stand out no matter what she did. However, there wasn't time to dwell: her books were scattered on the floor. As she was bending down to pick them up, though, she felt a sharp tug back on the collar of her shirt: landing her on her back with a thud. "Spider-geek, Spider-geek, will get _crushed_ like a spider does," Noel's best friend Ben Coogan sang out after he yanked Paige to the ground.

The laughing boys walked away: fist bumping. "Hey morons, don't ever touch her again!" The boys — who were now possibly out of earshot — were unfazed by Emily's words. In fact, it was only Emily that seemed taken back by her uncharacteristic outburst. It wasn't so much that it was odd for her to defend Paige; as much as she was annoyed by the girl's affections she didn't enjoy seeing her hurt. What was odd was the fact that she had just defended Paige so openly. Normally, words over Paige were exchanged in private when she had a moment to pull the tormentor aside and gently encourage them to leave Paige alone: with minor threats.

Still no one else appeared bothered by it or even seemed to noticed Emily's outburst. Spencer and Aria were picking up the scattered books, while Hanna helped Spider-geek — oops — Paige to her feet.

Paige did notice though; she always noticed momentary lapses in Emily's icy facade. Scaring Emily would be too easy right now if she were to make a big deal out of what the girl had just done for her. So instead she smiled softly and brushed herself off, realizing that Emily was, indeed, already scared.

It was unfortunate, to say the least, that Paige had fallen so deeply in-love with a girl that was so over-protective of herself. Where even the small act of standing up for her would cause the girl to retreat back into her shell. But in what has been proven to be true time and time again: Paige couldn't help who she loves any more than Emily could help who falls in love with her. It was just Emily's bad luck that Paige was so persistent. It was also Emily's bad luck — and not the universe trying to tell her something — that Paige was in almost every class with her: starting with English.

When the warning bell rang, Emily and Paige naturally fell in-step with each other. They often walked together to class without walking _together_. Just two students that happen to be going to the same room: walking beside each other.

"Paige, just the person I wanted to see." Grace Turner was shy a girl, but she would always greet Paige with unbridled joy. Smiling to the point where her face was practically all teeth and glasses.

"Well, then it's a good thing I didn't wear my invisibility cloak," Paige joked, having to push up her glasses, because, like usual, she was laughing at herself. It's a shame she wasn't looking at Emily, because if she had been she would have seen a slight hint of a smile: something that Paige needed from time to time. There was no missing the smile on Grace's face, though. She beamed until she cupped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment after laughing so much she snorted.

"You are so funny," Grace said. She genuinely enjoyed Paige's humor.

"Class, settle down. Take your seats. Open your minds. Let learning in. Books! What are they good for? Absolutely _everything. _Hold them up." Mr. McBeth was one of the more…interesting teachers at Rosewood. He loved teaching, though, and it showed in everything he did. "Does everyone have their book today?"

From the back of the classroom, Emily raised her hand sheepishly. "I forgot mine."

"Oh no, Miss Fields say it isn't so." Emily's face tinted red: embarrassed by the unwanted attention. "Who would like to spend the next forty-five minutes sitting next to Emily? All you have to do is share your book." Paige would, of course, like to spend all the time she could sitting next to Emily.

"I do! I have a — ," Paige's words were interrupted momentarily as she scrambled over the empty desk to get to Emily, "a book. We can share. I'll share."

Mr. McBeth rubbed his forehead, watching the whole clumsy scene unfold before him. If he had these girls next year he was going to seat them next to each other. Threatening looks from Emily be damned. "Thank you Paige for your enthusiastic willingness to help Miss Fields. Now that we are all settl — " They were almost settled, but Paige was worried Emily could not see the book comfortably with their desks being so far away, so she set out to fix the problem. Every set of eyes in the classroom were on her as her desk scraped slowly along the linoleum floor; Paige apologized throughout the entire cringe-inducing ordeal. "Finished," Mr. McBeth asked once the screeching finally stopped.

As soon as Paige sat down she took her glasses off to clean them with her t-shirt. "Carry on."

"Good, now that we are settled let's turn our books to page 307. Anyone want to volunteer to read the first paragraph for us," Mr. McBeth asked his already-bored class, knowing beyond any doubt that only one hand was going to shoot up to volunteer. And he was right. Paige waved her hand eagerly in the air with almost as much enthusiasm as she showed getting to Emily. "Yes, Paige, go ahead."

Paige started to read, "I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be." Emily's nerves twisted: knowing that she was on the geek's mind. Knowing that when Paige uttered the word "love" she was thinking of her; she was hopelessly romantic and in her romantic mind she was reading to Emily.

She wished there was someway to divert Paige's attention to another girl. Someone more deserving and appreciative of the geek's affections. Honestly, Paige was reasonably attractive even with her glasses and poor choice of clothing. She had inviting brown eyes that Emily could imagine — if she tried hard enough — would captivate a lover.

Mr. McBeth smiled sadly watching Emily's face contort into a look of discomfort: aware that Paige was likely the cause. He had to admit that despite Paige's awkward demeanor, she was one of his favorite students. She was just as sharp as Spencer Hasting, but without all the pretension and demanding attitude. Besides he couldn't fault the girl for being in love, after all, he was sure that he had acted in a similar manner when he first met his wife of 15 years.

Truth is, he always found himself rooting for Paige, after first seeing the lovestruck teenager three years ago. He admired her bravery and her willingness to be so open about her feelings when most kids her age would have given up: especially after the amount of rejection Emily had given her. Day-to-day, he would hope to see Emily and Paige walking in together: hand-in-hand. Or at least engaging in a conversation that Emily looked like she wanted to be a part of. At this point — with time winding down for the Juniors — Mr. McBeth worried it would take a miracle for that to happen.

"Mr. McBeth, shall I continue," Paige repeated for the third time.

The teacher, not realizing he had been lost in though, shook his head and responded, "Emily, how about you read the next paragraph for us."

Mr. McBeth laughed quietly as Paige's full attention turned to Emily. In actuality, her attention turned to Emily's lips, but he couldn't see that from all the way at the front of the classroom. Hearing Emily read was a treat for Paige. All the books that she already loved, she only fell in love with them more once it was Emily's voice telling her the story instead of her own. She sighed in dreamy contentment: wishing that Mr. McBeth would have Emily read for the rest of class.

"Do you want me to keep reading," Emily asked once she had finished her assigned paragraph.

Mr. McBeth motioned for her to continue and with a huff she refocused on the next sentence.

Paige cheered in her head, "Teacher of the year!" Before long Paige was back to being mesmerized at the way Emily's lips wrapped around each word. She was sure that if she could see the words they would be dancing in line on Emily's tongue, waiting for their chance to make the breathy presence known.

"Thank you, Emily," Mr. McBeth released her, remembering why he didn't sit Paige and Emily next to each other. Paige would likely spiral downward from an A student to an F student. Although if there was at least one test on Emily's face, the lovesick girl would ace it, pulling her final grade up to at least a D.

While the other students took over the duty of reading out loud, Paige and Emily remained leaning towards each other to follow along from the same book. It had been a week since they last cuddled; not nearly enough time for Emily to feel comfortable inviting Paige over again. The brunette was going to be home alone tonight, though, and she decided that just this once, a week would be enough time between cuddle sessions.

"Paige," Emily whispered, careful to not disturb the rest of class.

Paige looked up quickly; an eager smile plastered on her face, "Yes?"

"Would you be willing to come over tonight?" Emily tried to ignore the look of disappointment that flashed across Paige's face. Except, the look confused her so much it became all she could focus on. She was sure that the geek enjoyed cuddling with her; so why would she look disappointed?

"Sure," was all Paige said before returning back to the book, flipping the pages quickly: trying to catch up with the rest of the class.

For a brief moment Emily considered asking Paige if something was wrong, but that might have lead to a discussion about feelings. She ultimately decided against it; and they fell back into their routine silence until the bell rung.

After class, Grace hesitantly approached Paige. "Do you have a second," Grace asked, shifting, nervously, in the spot that she was standing.

Emily eyed the fidgeting girl with careful consideration: wheels turning in her head.

"I sure do. What's on your mind," Paige answered.

Grace began to fidget even more: shifting her eyes between Paige, Emily, and the floor. "I - umm - I just have a joke if you want to hear it." The geek nodded. "I told a chemistry joke recently; it didn't get a big reaction."

Paige responded with an amused chuckle before tell her own silly chemistry joke: "That's why I only tell chemistry jokes periodically."

Emily watched as both jokesters laughed together. And when Grace reached her hand out to touch Paige's arm, a lightbulb switched on inside Emily's mind. Those two were perfect for each other. Clearly, they understood each other jokes. Emily was sure they both enjoyed music and Grace seemed to have a crush. Okay, so maybe perfect was an overstatement, but she still felt like the two would be a good-enough match. At least Grace would _get_ Paige: something Emily thought she could never do.

She looked up and smiled brightly at Paige: an actual honest-to-God smile. She knew Paige was waiting for her so she gathered up her things and together — but not _together_ — they walked to their second period class. Ideas about how she was going to persuade Grace to ask Paige out were already running through her mind.

* * *

"I have a brilliant idea," Emily said. She was currently standing on a small wooden box while Hanna draped and pinned shiny, gold fabric around her. Fourth period elective was the only class Emily and Paige didn't have together; because Hanna talked Emily into taking a fashion class with her. Although, Emily was sure that she wouldn't have pick film production like the redhead had.

Hanna hummed in acknowledgment.

"You know Grace Turner?"

"The tall, awkward, gorgeous blonde with legs for miles? Of course, I've been wanting to give her a makeover for years," Hanna said. "Hold still."

Emily's brows dropped at Hanna's words. "Would we say she is gorgeous," Emily asked skeptically.

"Totally, if you look passed the glasses that take up almost half of her face and her curly hair that she can't seem to control. She is stunning."

On reflex, Emily tried to twist around to face Hanna only to be stabbed by tiny, but effective, dressmaker pins, "Oww!"

"Well, I told you to hold still. Maybe next time you'll listen to a girl when she is armed." Once Emily settled back into her spot Hanna went back to work. "Anyway, what about Grace?"

"I think she has a thing for Paige and I'm going to try to set the two of them up," Emily said matter-of-factly.

Hanna dropped her hands to her sides and stood up to better look into the brunette's eyes. "Really," she asked incredulously. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Hanna lolled her head to the side trying to think of the nicest way to tell Emily that she's being an idiot. "I guess I feel like you shouldn't be working so hard to push Paige away."

"I'm not 'working hard,' but I think it's time she moved on. Grace likes her; all she needs is a push to ask Paige out." Emily sighed and sat down on a nearby chair. She knew Hanna liked Paige, but they both needed to move on. "Don't you think that Paige deserves to like someone that likes her back? I know you like her, but she and I are never going to happen."

"Of course I do, I just hoped that you would give her a chance is all. I don't think you realize what you are giving up."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other end of the hallway Paige was carefully editing together pieces of a short film. "Emily smiled at me today," she said to her project partner and best friend, Caleb.

"Well, stop the presses! It's nothing short of an early Christmas miracle." Caleb had been trying to persuade Paige to date other girls for years, but at this point he would settle for Paige even noticing another girl. He didn't understand his friend's loyalty towards a girl that has never shown any interested in her. Because Caleb - like Emily's friends — didn't know about her calling Paige when she wanted to be held. An action that Emily refused to acknowledge was keeping Paige from giving up.

"Make fun of me all you want; I think she's might be coming around."

Caleb looked at Paige sadly. He knew she was going to be heartbroken when Emily "coming around" ended up being nothing — again. "Let's just finish this film. It's taco day in the cafeteria and I want to get there early."

Caleb navigated through the lunch crowd with eight tacos — the school enforced limit — balancing on his tray. Paige followed closely behind with a much less greedy three tacos. She scanned the crowd until she spotted a blonde waving them over.

"Hi, Hanna, are you not eating today," Paige asked noticing Hanna didn't have a tray in front of her. "Would you like me to get food for you?"

"No, I'm fine thank you. The girls are getting food for me while I'm on table guarding duty. It's difficult to find a decent table on taco day," Hanna answered.

"I share with you while you wait," Caleb said handing one of his tacos to Hanna.

"Thank you, Caleb. That's very sweet of you," Hanna said smiling shyly at the boy.

Paige laughed lightly at the exchange. Caleb and Hanna liked each other, but both were two shy to make the first move. She did everything she could to persuade the guy to ask Hanna out and he had been close a couple times, but always back out last minute. "Gee, Caleb, are you sure that you are not going to starve with just seven tacos," Paige joked.

"Probably, but I'll just take one of yours." Caleb reached over to steal a taco from Paige's tray, but she quickly slapped his hand away.

"In some places it is well within my rights to chop off your hands now, but I'll let you off with a warning."

"Hey, guys," Spencer said when she and Aria got to the table.

"Hi, where's Em," Hanna asked.

"Let me guess she's been kidnap and the kidnappers want 50 unmarked tacos delivered before the end of the day," Paige said pushing her glasses back up her nose.

Spencer and Aria exchanged looks before Spencer made a poor attempt at an alibi, "She - she remembered that she had a meeting with a teacher at lunch."

It was no use although, but Paige appreciated them for trying. She didn't normally sit with Emily and her friends during lunch. Had it not been for the fact that Hanna was sitting alone; Paige knew she would not have called her and Caleb over. Emily was avoiding eating with her friends because she was sitting with them too. Suddenly, it was like watching Emily getting her first kiss all over again. Paige began to understand what she was to Emily: not much. She had never gone so far to deliberately avoid her before.

"Paige," Hanna whispered in the hurt girl's ear, "you don't deserve this."

She didn't look up to respond to Hanna: more comfortable inspecting the chipped paint of the table. "I don't deserve what? She has a meeting," Paige said trying to remain blissfully ignorant. "Here, Caleb, you can have rest of my food. I don't want you to starve." Her lips quirked into a small smile before heading off to the library.

"Wait up," Hanna called out chasing after the redhead. Paige turned on her heels and waiting for Hanna to catch up: cleaning her glasses with her shirt. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, never better," Paige replied sarcastically.

The blonde grabbed Paige's hand, "You don't have to be brave with me. I know that your feelings are hurt."

"I can't help that I love her, Hanna." Paige paused to wipe a stray tear away with her sleeve. "I've tried to forget about her, but when I see her I think, 'what if today is the day she changes her mind about me'. At this point, though, tell me how to stop loving her and I will gladly do it. I don't want to annoy her anymore."

"You are not going to forget about her overnight," Hanna said, rubbing Paige's arms. "Hey, how about you let me set you up on a date?"

Paige rocked her head back and forth considering the offer. Everyone was telling her that she should try dating more, but a blind date: that seemed a little extreme. "I don't know, Han."

"Give it a chance," said Hanna. That got to Paige. All she wanted was a chance with Emily, but now she was hypocritically refusing giving someone a chance herself.

She finally relented with a slow nod.

"Yay," Hanna exclaimed and clapped excitedly. "Are you free Friday?"

"Friday is the Sadie Hawkins assembly remember? I can do Thursday."

"Great, I'll set it up for Thursday. That'll be better anyway: more like a get-to-know-you-hang-out rather than a date."

"Isn't a date basically a 'get-to-know-you-hang-out,'" Paige asked in a teasing tone.

Hanna scrunched her face at Paige, "I don't care what you call it as long as you go."

"I'll go," she said with a laugh.

What Paige didn't know was that Emily wasn't _avoiding_ her per se: she was looking for Grace. With one mission on her mind, to talk Grace into asking Paige out. She was proud of herself, actually, feeling like she would be doing the two of them a favor by bringing them together. Surely, it was all Paige needed — to date someone else — to make the girl realize that she wasn't actually in love with her. After not being able to find the leggy blonde Emily went home and straightened up her house in anticipation of Paige coming over. Then she did something she has never done before: she went to the store to buy some chocolate milk.

* * *

At seven Paige found herself standing in front of Emily's door: not quite ready to knock. The chalk was cleaned from her hands and her clothes were fresh; but she kept replaying Hanna's words in her mind. "You deserve better." She knew that it was true, but maybe she just didn't care. Because on the other side of that door was the girl of her dreams and her dream girl was waiting to be held. There was no way she was going to miss that chance.


End file.
